HP Eyeing a Return to the Smartphone Business

Hewlett-Packard is not done with smartphones - at least according to one executive.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Yam Su Yin, a senior director for consumer PC and media tablets at HP, told the paper that HP will tackle smartphones once again.

"The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game," Yin said in response to a question about whether or not the company would get back into the smartphone game.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said that "HP will expand to additional mobility categories and form factors where we believe we can offer differentiated value to our customers. We will bring smartphones to market but are not giving a timetable."

The TouchPad, however, had trouble competing against the iPad, while the smartphones got lost amongst the iPhone and Android devices. By Aug. 2011, HP announced that it would discontinue support for webOS devices, including the TouchPad tablet. The subsequent TouchPad fire sales, which priced the tablet at $99 and $149 - ironically made the TouchPad a hot item for a brief time.

As for webOS, HP decided in Dec. 2011 - after some back and forth - that it would open-source webOS instead of selling the platform to the highest bidder. Last year, HP announced the launch of its Open webOS beta version, while HP's webOS Global Business Unit (GBU) was reborn as a new company known as Gram.

HP's overall struggle to turn things around, meanwhile, continued in the second quarter as the computing giant reported double-digit year-over-year declines in revenue and net income. Whether or not a return to mobile can turn things around or will sink HP deeper into a financial hole remains to be seen.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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